Commissioner Candidate Charged In School Bus Hit-And-Run
FOUR OAKS — A Johnston County commissioner candidate was arrested Friday afternoon following a hit-and-run crash involving a school bus.
Chad Stewart, 55, of Four Oaks, a Republican candidate for the District 3 seat on the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, is charged with misdemeanor failure to stop for a stopped school bus, misdemeanor hit-and-run resulting in property damage, and failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision.
Four Oaks Police said the crash occurred at approximately 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 on East Sanders Street near Meadow Hills Drive in the town limits. Johnston County school bus No. 302 was reportedly stopped when it was rear-ended by an older model Chevrolet Corvette. Authorities said the driver of the Corvette then backed up, drove past the bus and left the scene.
After reviewing video footage from the bus and conducting an investigation, officers obtained an arrest warrant Friday afternoon. Stewart appeared before a magistrate and was released on a $20,000 unsecured bond. He is scheduled to appear April 10, 2026, in Johnston County District Court.
There were seven Johnston County Early College and Johnston County Career and Technical Leadership Academy students on board the bus at the time of the accident. No injuries were reported.
Police estimated the school bus sustained approximately $1,000 in damage to the rear bumper. The Corvette sustained an estimated $10,000 in damage, police said.
Stewart is on the ballot in the March 3 Republican primary for the District 3 seat.
He previously served eight years on the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, including terms as vice chairman and chairman. He resigned in 2021 after accepting a position with the Johnston County ABC Board and later left that role in 2024.
Johnston County Report reached Mr. Stewart late Friday seeking comment. He declined to comment on the advice of his attorney.
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This story has been updated
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Still voting STEWART
I’m not a betting woman but if I were I’d go all in on his was *****! Never been around him when he wasn’t wreaking of alcohol. For those of you calling him a “good man”, a good man rear ends a stopped school bus and reverses, turns around, and DRIVES OFF?!?! No, he’s not a good man, he’s a ***** that thinks he’s better than most people and above the law apparently!! 🙄🥴
Zip it Cookie!
Ok Timmy 🤣
Sheep say baaaa
Woe,just woe,what a disappointment.
R.D. Braswell “Dicky” make sure to carve your name and county into that cell wall of yours, we have another JOCO commissioner that held the same county seat coming to keep your vacated cell bed warm about the time you are released. Dicky if you see Chad Stewart tell him *** *** he will know what it means!!!
Why? Hits a school bus and leaves? Disgusting ******.
Don’t vote for him because if he gets elected then has to serve time the rest of the board will appoint whoever they like and the people lose their say.
Did he technically pass a stopped school bus?
He hit it, backed up and then passed it leaving the scene of the accident. He is Not fit for office!
If he’s prone to drinking, as someone else commented, that would be why he left the scene. His charges and negative publicity would be greatly increased.
I’m not sure if this is sarcasm or not.. I certainly hope it is.
Yes we’ve all done. Stupid stuff. You have to look at where his heart is. Chad has a big heart and has served this country and this county well. I know there’s a lot of people to jump on the haters bandwagon, but unless you know this guy, you should probably be quiet. If you’ve never done anything stupid or made a mistake in your life thing, please feel free to go ahead and comment.
I’ve done plenty of stupid stuff but NONE of it included hitting a vehicle carrying children then driving around said vehicle carrying children and kept going. This wasn’t an accident after the collision. The collision could be forgiven or seen as just what it was…an accident. But everything after that was an intentional stupid decision.
What he did was wrong. Good or bad doesn’t matter. He just put his true colors on display.
Correct. We’ve all made mistakes however we aren’t running for an elected office. Hitting a school bus and then running away isn’t exactly the kind of character I would like to have in a public office. Please, elaborate as to why you can defend this behavior.
He broke the law and then drove off..That is stupid. Yes I have done stupid stuff, but I have never did a hit and run. Did they seize his car. Just wondering. One of the “good ole boys”. He probably left the scene because he thought he could nd he did.
Well, hitting a school bus and then fleeing the accident sure isn’t one! Especially being occupied by students and not even waiting to find out if everyone is ok, but that says more about people defending him than it does him. . He was probably DUI anyway ..
I’ve done plenty of Stupid stuff In my but never hit a school bus…with the arms out…loaded with children. accident or not he left.. without checking on a single soul. If he can’t do the right thing by a bus load of children what makes you think he will do right by JOCO??? Wonderful man I have no doubt… however wonderful people do stupid stuff all the time. See!!!! Seems there are a lot of coverups coming from this one!!!
I know him as well and two things can be true at once. He may be a good father but that does not mean he’s a good candidate for local government. It does not mean he doesn’t have an alcohol problem. It doesn’t erase the fact that he was drinking in the job when he works for ABC.
It does not mean he doesn’t have huge money problems. He owes most of his friends thousands. His wife drives around in new vehicles that they clearly can’t afford to project a certain “image”. Wade Stewart was a wonderful man and many had hoped Chad would step up, but he did not.
Shame on you! I know who you are. Let’s throw some of your business out and see how you feel. Everybody has their dirty secrets don’t they.
That’s exactly right, Chad is a good man. No telling what he’s got going on. I haven’t walked in his shoes. He made a bad decision. Haven’t we all at some time in our life. Thankfully nobody was hurt.
GOD KNOWS ALL 🙏 AN REALLY 🙏 MOST KNOW THAT MAN KNOWS THE REAL DEAL PERIOD
@Truther yes we have all done stupid stuff, like your post. I suppose if he were not a white political insider you would be clamoring for whoever it was to be jailed, deported or executed. Small town politics is the same everywhere. He’ll probably get out of this and get re-elected. And you wonder why the County’s going to **** in a handbasket.
This is why i wait til election day to vote. Alot can happen between day 1 early voting and election day. Never was a chad fan for other reasons, but now the character is revealed.
He cannot be trusted in office. What if there was an injury to one of the children and he just drove off not knowing. I’m not saying he is a bad guy, but he sure does not give a hoot for other people so trust him in office, I think not.
Hey Steve H . Who are you really? I’m Steve Hart . I think the world of Chad Stewart. He has done a Great Job for this county . His father has done a great job as well. Please be real and not fake. I have seen on here where You have used Steve H a lot on JoCo report and I’m finally speaking up to you Jealous one for the first time on here now. Stop 🛑 making good people look bad . You know who you are. I assure you will never ever be me. Go find your rabbit hole. I support Mr Stewart 100 percent. Just to be clear here I always put my full name on here .
Still voting for Chad Stewart.
“Baaa” say the sheep
JoCo has a history of electing criminals… I’m sure the sheep will keep voting the same.
Amen!! Criminals are more attractive to MAGA.
You are a Clown!
Hopefully he learns a lesson from this. Election wise I will vote for Adam Caldwell.
Great guy made a mistake anyone could make
I can’t see myself running into a loaded school bus, immediately reversing and leaving the scene. Not in my or any reasonable persons wildest imagination.
Are you Doug Parrish from Brodgen?
Baloney! It is true that anyone can make a mistake; however, a government official who makes a mistake as egregious as hitting a stopped school bus and leaving the scene…well that’s much more than a mistake.
My guess is the arresting officer “courteously” ignored the presence of alcohol. The accident has the earmarks of drinking and driving. He’s a Trump fan, so the best punishment is probably midnight deportation to CECOT. Definitely a dangerous criminal since he left the scene, especially after hitting a school bus.
I bet he got home and made a drink to throw off a driving while impaired charge before the law showed up.
Only for the grace of God, there goes I…
No booking mugshot!
I love seeing all the keyboard hero’s on here talking smack but too afraid to put in your real name. For you all that do this, you are just COWARDS. And by the way, Dicky is getting out free of charges!!!
Love this post, people are so quick to throw stones. Everybody on your soap box. So I say if you are free of any wrong doing, don’t have no dirty secrets, by all means Stand on that soap box and cast the stones. People are real quick to condemn someone.
Where is the actual mug shot? He needs to just withdraw. Embarrassing for Johnston Co. If that was any one of us, we’d be locked up still with no bond. I’m sure alcohol was involved as always.
They need to investigate the Johnston County ABC . Corrupt bunch!!!!
Johnston County ABC is so corrupt!! Someone needs to investigate them!!!!
Are the penalties worse for DUI than hit-and-run? Just wondering. Probably so if there are previous DUIs. Bad incentives.
Last time I went to pass inspection for mi car this gay was drunk and destroyed my obd port
For the people defending him, come on and just give up! Yes, he is probably a good guy to his friends and family and he’s one of the good ole boys but leaving the scene of an accident especially one involving hitting a school bus with kids on it is just out right dumb and stupid and careless! Everyone knows why he left the scene and it more than likely involved alcohol. He knew exactly what he was doing by leaving the scene and that was to make it hard to prove he had been drinking or was drunk. By leaving the scene and not being arrested until hours later he can now say he wasn’t drinking at the time of the incident but he drank once he got home because he was so upset and nervous about what had happened. I don’t condone it but by him doing that was smart on his part. Ultimately Johnston County doesn’t need a commissioner that acts like this by using poor judgement by drinking and driving and then fleeing the scene of an accident involving a bus with children on it but we all know how this is going to end and sadly there’s nothing we can do about it. He’s in the JOCO good ole boy network and he will probably get **** ***** to represent him and probably get charged with leaving the scene of an accident and pay a fine and he will be successful in his bid to become a Johnston County Commissioner again after it was basically handed to him the first time! There’s nothing we regular ole Johnston County residents can do to change it! It’s just Johnston County politics doing what it does best and that’s protecting their own!
Please pray for Chad Stewart and Family! 🙁
@Elizabeth: Why? You should be praying for the seven students and their families. Or the bus driver. Or the LEOs who have to spwnd time investing this. Or the taxpayers of JoCo who are going to be paying for this for years. The fact that you’d rather pray for the CRIMINAL instead of the VICTIMS tells us all we need to know about you.
I pray for ALL involved.
Great response.Thats what we are supposed to do.Pray for everyone.I agree with you Elizabeth
Amen to that!
Glad that they have him only 20k bond . This should take his name off the ballot he needs to pay for the crime just like anyone else
Exactly!
NO DOUBT. REALLY FOLKS, A MISDEMEANOR I DON’T THINK SO SOMEBODY NEEDS TO RESEARCH AND GO BACK SBS
My BIBLE says to pray for ALL!
Please cite the chapter and verse from your Bible that says that, because:
Jeremiah 7:11
Jeremiah 11:14
Jeremiah 14:11
John 17:9
1 John 5:16
God explicitly commanded, at times, not to pray for people who are committing sins that lead to death. DUIs do lead to death.
Yes, I know: I have a dear friend whose mother was killed by a drunk driver who is in jail now. The man happened to be an illegal immigrant, and he ran into the back of my friend’s mother’s stopped SUV at a stop sign in 2019 on Veterans’ Day. 🙁 Nearly killed the whole family by drunk driving. I pray for ALL.
If you weren’t there when the accident happened you are assuming he was driving while impaired. Did anyone see this man take a drink? Then you do not know if Mr. Stewart was driving impaired or not. People stop assuming, you know what they say about assuming, makes an a** out of you and me both!!!!! Instead of casting stones at the man, people should be thankful nobody involved was injured!!!!!!!!! This sounds like a bunch of political BS, because he is a Republican, and supports our sitting President and is a patriotic man doesn’t make him an alcoholic nor a bad person. For those of you that do not support our sitting president then you’re not considered patriotic, therefore I consider you traitors of your country!!!!!!
Well said !
💯
Yes, I have a friend whose mother was killed by a drunk driver. We all have life experiences, so don’t lecture people.
“My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” – (JOHN 17: 20,21)